


Un-professional Boundaries

by marsoph00



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gay Harry Potter, Gay Remus Lupin, Harry Potter - Freeform, LGBT+ Youth, Lupin/Potter, M/M, Remus Lupin/Harry Potter - Freeform, complicated relationship, m/m relationship, professor/student, unprofessional
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:19:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsoph00/pseuds/marsoph00
Summary: Remus Lupin was probably the most qualified professor to be teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (besides maybe Dumbledore himself). Having studied for years on the subject and even to be rumored to have dueled off with Tom Riddle himself, he was clearly qualified and more than welcomed by the faculty, students, and staff to work at such an esteemed school. The girls fancied him, the boys wanted to be him. But how professional can he be when confronted by the one thing he's never had the guts to face: his own emotions?





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Natalee and Alex](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Natalee+and+Alex).



With the angry air threatening to blow freshly frozen snow in through the windows, the tall man rolled his sleeves up in the mirror whilst looking over his daily attire. 

Fairly typical for him, an established professor at one of the most esteemed Magical Schools in the country, he wore a smart looking button down accompanied by one of his favorite knit jumpers. It suited him very well. He chuckled at the thought that the only thing he was missing was an elbow patch Or two on the jumper to accompany this esteemed look. While his appearance remained fresh and professional as ever, his attire was not fit to the occasion. 

The weekly trip to Hogsmeade was overbooked with the new incoming class of third years and to make matters even worse, two of the professors had already called in sick! 

Of course, he could take a short trip down memory lane or go drink with the other professors. Although he was considerably younger than them, and to be candid, he never got the hang of referring to most of them by their first names (as it wasn’t so long ago that he was a student here). But if he were to do neither of those options, then shy of being a complete loner the whole day, he would be forced to associate with the students in a personal manner. 

This was a tricky subject for Lupin; he was often fawned over by the girls in his classes. He didn’t ever mention it or refer to it ever, but he most definitely knew about it and truthfully it bothered him much more than he let on. So, the debate for him was to either be miserable all day or to find a group of students who wouldn’t pry too much but would do for a bit of a laugh. 

Dazed, lost in his own thought, he started down the steps leading from his room. Of course, he had been thinking of none of this in particular as he prepared himself for the day; he thought of the exams he needed to have graded, how much change he currently had in his pocket, the phone call back home he must make tonight, and he thought about his students. He was, of course, worrying in the back of his mind that a student would corner him with some unprofessional or undesirable question, or that a fellow professor would see him alone with one of the younger girls and make assumptions. After the last Dark Arts Professor was fired for what was assumed to be a similar reason, it was impossible to be too careful. He paced around the professors quarters for a moment before making a hasty exit from the nearly hidden door and beginning to make his way towards the fated gate: the entrance to Hogsmeade. Gaining a sense of security in the familiar walk he knew and loved, Remus tilted his head up ever so slightly farther and loosened the grip of his pocket watch in favor of a more casual stance. 

And then Potter walked by. 

“Professor Lupin, will we see you at the Hog’s Head this afternoon?” He asked with a smirk. 

Of course, it was Potter; the cursed boy, spitting image of his father, had eyes just like his mother. Much to the young professor’s confusion, Potter was his star student. With an affinity for the Dark Arts (of which Remus was the Professor), the two received much time together between Potter’s numerous classes and any extra meetings which were required between the two. He seemed to really care what the man had to say, and he seemed to really want to learn. Not to mention that his natural ability was simply stunning even in the eyes of a much-experienced wizard. Were he not the product of his parents, he would be the perfect student. 

Keeping up his skilled charade, Remus merely nodded in response to the boy’s question. 

Remus knew it was unfair to blame Potter for his parents’ abysmal circumstances, but he could not help himself. There is only so much separating of the professional and personal boundaries one can do, after all; Remus had once been very close friends with James and Lily Potter, Harry’s deceased parents. As much as it pained Harry, it came to pain Remus even more as in one night two of his closest friends had abandoned him. In the midst of the war against the Deatheaters, he took this extremely hard and became nearly a recluse before finally regaining his purpose in life and attempting to cure his soul through travel and study. Now he was a professor at the very school he once learned from. Potter’s history was his history, yet no one knew of this and no one would ever be daring enough to ask. All of the students knew not to get too personal with Professor Lupin. 

But he and Potter got along, why couldn’t he join in with him and his friends, he thought to himself. He could badger them with questions about the class or even speak to them about future ambitions which was the young professor’s favorite part about advising students outside of class. Potter’s friends were not bad either. After all, they were two very peculiar and oddly-matched characters: The smartest witch in the grade and one of the Weasley boys. 

Secretly, Remus had always (in his time at Hogwarts) admired the older Weasley boys in their ability to create such skilled commotion. He was, after all, a prankster in his own youth and would often be called into the office of the woman he now knew as Minerva for disturbing the peace. 

That decided it. He sped up his pace ever so slightly to catch up with the students just outside the door. He had never noticed that they were all threatening to reach up to his own height. The frizzy-haired girl chirped a quick hello and was met with a kind smile from the man. 

“Will you be joining us today, Professor?” She asked happily, of course feeling the most at home with surrounded by her intellectual equals. 

He surprised himself by responding almost immediately: “If you don't mind, Miss Granger, I would be happy to.” 

No one did mind. 


	2. The Walk to The Hog's Head

Always one for putting his foot in his mouth, the Weasley boy continued to ask questions all the way through to the gates. It was quite often the frizzy-haired girl would have to smack the back of his head (rather hard) in an effort to get him to “shut up about the poor professor’s personal life,” as she would say. 

Harry hadn’t gotten a single word out the entire time they were walking, of course. Remus was slightly disappointed by this fact but wasn’t sure exactly why this was such an attack to him. He chalked it up in his mind to simply enjoying Potter’s discussions in class. 

He entertained the other two students by laughing along and making light-hearted jokes about other professors and the current political state of the ministry (after the transition to the new minister, after all, it had been quite the butt of jokes). A little too often, though, he found himself glancing over at the dark haired boy on the end. Maybe it was a few too many times that he caught him rolling his eyes at every lame joke which seemed to cause quite the uproar among the rest of the ensemble. And perhaps he knew deep down that his eyes only traveled where his affection did. 

People say that when teaching there is a way to weed out personal and professional lives. At some point, you “just stop caring.” Well, if that’s the case, Remus has been waiting for the day for far too long. You can pretend all you want, he always tells his incoming students, some part of you will always care-- you’re still going to be human, no matter how hard you try. 

“Harry,” he asked, interrupting an incoherent thought from Hermione as she attempted to filter out a logical answer from her own mindless rambling (her nerves when around professors were always a bit higher than usual), “what do you have planned for today, my boy?” 

He cursed at himself in his head; Inappropriate. Unprofessional. You don't say those things to your students! 

Harry, of course, let out a light chuckle. It’s not often that your most attractive professor refers to you in such a colloquial tone. “Well… sir,” (he added the sir with much emphasis) “I was planning on heading over to… er… The Hog’s Head…?” He realized at that a moment too late that he had gotten himself into far too much trouble and even gained himself a fair slap across the back of the head from Hermione and a death glare from Ron. The pub was not open to the students on class trips, so of course, the only way to be admitted would be to sneak in, or with special permission. 

“Oh really?” The tall man chuckled, a smile threatening to give away his amusement, “and you have the permission to do this? From whom may I ask?” 

Harry would sooner have died than to get in trouble from a professor, on his one day in Hogsmeade, no less. He chuckled softly to himself before hatching his master plan, looking up and saying simply: “Why, you did, sir.” 

Remus chuckled, raising an eyebrow slightly before nodding and continuing to pick up the pace as they arrived at the gates. The ground was coated with the soft snow, as it always was at this time of year. The shops were all bustling and beaming with the best candies, treats, and novelties. It was almost as if no time ever passed at Hogsmeade, regardless of the time of year or time of day; Hogsmeade always seemed the same. Remus remembered coming here as a kid with his class, with his best friends. He knew it was the same feeling for these three. 

The three students started making their way towards Honeydukes and Remus started walking forward for a second before turning back to the three. 

“Where are you going? Hog’s Head is this way, you three.” 

The look on their faces was priceless; Hermione looked very worried and confused as if this was all a trap, Ron looked excited but concerned with the sudden request, and Harry was the only one who smiled and immediately caught up to the professor. “I’d love to, but Ron and I have some business to take care of here,” Hermione mumbled, letting out a small smile and tugging on the boy’s jacket harshly. With a frown and a wave, they disappeared into the crowd. 

Remus blushed slightly, not that anyone could tell with the cold air already blowing his cheeks to new heights of red. Thank god for that.


	3. A Severus Story

Letting out a soft sigh, Harry plopped into the barstool next to the professor. Remus ordered them each a butterbeer and himself something a bit stronger. 

“So, Harry, How have classes been for you?” He smiled slightly, looking over to the younger boy with a curious face as they walked in the wooden doors. Harry plopped onto a barstool as Remus ordered them each a butterbeer and himself something a bit stronger.

“Professor Lupin, I don't think that’s what you really want to talk about…” He paused, sighing softly. “But if you must know, everything has been fine in my classes. Except for, I guess, potions. Professor Snape doesn’t seem to like me, but what else is new?” He smiled sadly.

Remus snorted.

“Oh, I’m sure. What strong wizard— what gryffindor— would old Severus ever be happy to meet? That’s nothing new; Don’t take it personally, Harry.” He smiled softly, the creases in the corners of his eyes becoming apparent.

“Sounds like you speak from experience,” He chuckled. “I mean… you knew my dad, and… he was Snape’s year…” He went silent for a moment, reflecting on the conversation he had just introduced, looking down to avoid the awkward eye contact that he was so used to getting after mentioning his parents. Of course, they had never talked about James Potter before and each of them was hoping that the other would never have the courage to mention it. Now it was a bit too late for hope, as Harry had already done it.

Lupin sighed softly, speaking from his heart, as he often never did. “Yeah… we knew Severus. He was in our year, and a right twat at that.”

He chucked as well, thinking back to his past.

“Your dad as one of the greatest friends I ever had. Although, we weren’t always the nicest to Severus… erm, he really took on the whole brooding teenager role and your dad, well, your father didn’t exactly take fondly to him trying to separate him and your mother either.” He chucked again, more nervously this time. “Still the best friend I ever had, Harry.” He paused. “You know, you look exactly like him. Except...”

Harry sighed. “Yeah, except for my eyes— They’re my mums. I know.” He rushed out this sentence a bit too quickly. Having heard this many times, especially after coming to Hogwarts, it became just a habit for him to brush it off.

Lupin frowned, looking into his eyes deeply. “Yes, your mothers eyes…” He sighed again, returning his gaze to the drink which had been placed before him. “Harry, your parents’ deaths… i know how hard that is to deal with… and, well, having been one of their close friends, well, if there’s ever anything you need, I’m here for you.” He stuttered this out all while still staring down at his drink and speaking barely above a whisper before taking a large swig of his gin and finally returning to meet the boy’s eyes.

Harry just stared for a moment before the professor finally realized what had overcome him and, after wiping a barely visible tear from is eye, he shrugged back into his usual self, nodding at the boy.

“I’m sorry, Potter, I know that was a bit personal.” He paused, unsure of what to say after his sudden outburst of affection and sentiment towards the boy and his circumstances. “Erm, my offer still stands, but would you do me a favor and forget we had this conversation?” He smiled awkwardly, picking up his drink again.

Harry eyed him over for a second more before smirking and responding, “Why of course, sir. Would you fancy letting me finish your drink if I did?”

Remus raised his eyebrows ever so slightly before placing the gin between the two of them, nodding discreetly, and returning to the butterbeer before him. Harry eyed it carefully, looking around, and taking the whole drink in one large swig.

“Now tell me,” He said, looking up to the tall professor with a vicious smirk on his face, “What was dear Professor Snape like as a teenager?”

Remus sighed, looking around him to ensure that there were no professors or staff nearby. Thankfully, it was just the two of them, and the bartender.

“Well...” he began, smiling as he dove into a wonderful story about Snape, James, Lily, and the rest of the Marauders in the days of their youth. Of course, Snape was the villain, Lily was the damsel in distress and the Marauders were the knights in shining armor, as the stories told usually went.

He told of a fight between James and Severus in Potions class where James insisted that his potion was right and showed up “dear old Snivellus” in front of Lily which lead to a fight after class had ended. James, being victorious, won the opportunity to be shot down by Lily, as she wasn’t te type of girl to be “won” by brutish fighting. As Remus finally drew the story to a close, he smiled at the apparent delight on the young boy’s face.

Harry’s eyes were bright now, sparkling almost. Remus saw them, stared into them and smiled to himself. They were beautiful. After a few moments of this intense eye contact between the two, Remus caught himself. He knew that he was staring a bit too much and quickly averted his gaze to avoid further questioning.

“You never truly answered by question about your classes, Harry…” Remus pondered, giving Harry the ability to lead the conversation into his interests.

“Well, sir, it’s not like I’m entirely focused academically… I much prefer quidditch talk, actually.” Yes, Remus had seen he boy play quite often; He was a magnificent player and truly seemed to love the sport. “I mean, I do like some parts of school, I just don't like all of it… Your class really is the only one that I excel in…”

“Oh really?” Remus could feel his professor side coming back, creating a distance between the two of them. “And hows that?” Harry shrugged. “Well, what do you want to do with your life, Job-wise?”

Harry shrugged again, pondering the question. “Well, I’ve always considered being an auror… perhaps working in the ministry if i were accepted…” He paused. “But, ybeyond that, I have no clue.”

Remus nodded.

“But, I do love your class. I really enjoy learning what you have to teach, which is, I mean… Maybe I just have a good teacher, though…” He smirked ever so slightly, eyeing the professor up and down before returning to his thoughts. “I really don't know at this point…”

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, sipping their drinks.

“Sir?” Said Harry.

“Yes?” The man responded, taking a quick sip of his drink.

“How did you know you wanted to be a professor?”

Remus sighed softly, looking out the window. “Fancy hearing about it on a walk?” He smiled again, finishing the last of his drink, standing and grabbing his coat.

Harry smiled, doing the same and leading him out of the tavern and into the crowded streets of Hogsmeade.


End file.
